


A Kinder Fate

by trappednightingale



Series: Fate [2]
Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death Fix, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2012-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-23 02:18:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/616987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trappednightingale/pseuds/trappednightingale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Can be seen as a fix-it fic to Manadh.<br/>Or can be read on it's own as a fix-it to canon, whichever you'd prefer :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Kinder Fate

When Kíli came to, he was lying on a white bed. He could hear ragged breathing and coughs coming from elsewhere in the room as well as the muffled sound of music, but his mind was too hazy to make sense of any of it. However, one thing stood out to him, the only clear detail in an otherwise muddled world: the warmth of a hand gripping his own.

 

Kíli shifted, trying to see whose head was burrowed against his side, but as he heard the gentle snores coming from the figure, he stilled, realizing he already knew.

 

“My dear Mister Baggins.” His throat was raw, his voice hoarse and barely louder than a whisper, but it was enough. The hobbit stirred, looking up at him in sleep-addled affection.

 

“I thought I’d lost you…” Bilbo smiled for a brief moment before snapping awake. “I thought I’d lost you! Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through? I swear, the nerve of you, thinking dying in battle was acceptable!”

 

Bilbo was gripping the loose white fabric of Kíli’s tunic now, shaking profusely, and the dwarf immediately pulled him down to rest against the uninjured side of his chest.

 

“I’m sorry. I never meant to worry you. And in my defense, the orc ran _me_ through. I wasn’t exactly throwing myself onto blades out there.” He teased, bringing a hand up to rest in Bilbo’s hair.

 

“Fíli and Thorin went down as well.” Bilbo mumbled into his neck. “Had the elves not gotten to you all in time, we would have lost you.”

 

“Saved by elves? Uncle must be furious.”

 

“As the newly crowned King Under the Mountain, he’s been advised that it’s in the kingdom’s best interest to try and maintain peace with the elves.” He responded solemnly, then burst into quiet laughter. “But yes, he threw a fit or two at first.”

 

Kíli felt Bilbo’s hand come to rest over his heart, just above where the blade had pierced his skin. He moved his own hand to cover it, loosely linking their fingers together.

 

“I almost lost you.” He said quietly, pressing a kiss into Bilbo’s unruly hair.

 

“No more battles, then. For either of us. I wouldn’t…I can’t bear to lose you.”

 

“No more battles.” Kíli agreed. “Or dragons.”

 

“Sounds fair.” Bilbo nodded. “Besides, since you’re one of Thorin’s heirs, doesn’t that make you a prince now? Princes can’t be involved in risky battles; what would your people do without you?” his voice was light and teasing, and Kíli shrugged in response.

 

“Well they’ll have to find out soon enough.” He winced as he let out a slight cough, and Bilbo looked up at him in alarm.

 

“I’m abdicating.” Kíli explained. “Renouncing my claim to the throne. Whatever you choose to call it. As soon as I’m well enough to leave, I’ll be putting this place far behind me.”

 

“Where will you go? Back to the city where you and Fíli lived before our quest?”

 

“No, we were never fond of the place. But there is this quaint little village in the Shire I was thinking of retiring to. That is, if the Master of Bag-End is not opposed to new neighbors.”

 

“Actually, I am. Terribly opposed to new neighbors. There’s always a fuss about getting adjusted to their habits, the initial asking them over for tea, then the awkwardness of running into them at parties. No, getting a new neighbor would be a very unpleasant experience indeed. You’ll simply have to move into Bag-End. Much less hassle that way.” Bilbo was grinning now, and a broad smile was covering Kíli’s face as well.

 

“Mister Baggins, are you asking me to share a home with you? Wouldn’t that be a bit indecent?” his eyes were dancing as he spoke and Bilbo reached up to flick him gently on the nose.

 

“Not if it’s handled properly. And even if it was…indecent, I’ve decided I don’t particularly care what others may say or think. Being apart from you…I can’t bear it, and I won’t ever again.”

 

Kíli felt a pang in his chest that had nothing to do with the wound, and his grip on Bilbo’s hand tightened as he pulled the hobbit closer.

 

“Never again.” He swore.

 

*******

 

After almost a month of healing, Kíli was finally well enough for the journey back to the Shire. Thorin refused to allow him to give up his status as heir, saying instead that he ought to act as an ambassador to other parts of Middle Earth instead. And if ‘other parts of Middle Earth’ really only meant ‘the Shire’, well, no one was complaining.

 

Apparently what ‘handled properly’ entailed was a long dinner party with Bilbo’s family, followed promptly by an accidental proposal—really, Kíli should never have been allowed to drink mead in such a stressful environment—that resulted in a second dinner party the following evening so wedding plans could be made.

 

It ended up being much grander than either of them wanted, Thorin insisting on performing the actual wedding itself in addition to paying for the whole thing. It was a solemn affair, with fine white clothing embroidered with silver and gold threads, flowers on every chair and arch. Every member of their company was in attendance, and despite how intimidated the hobbits were by them, they managed to keep a low profile through the entire ceremony.

 

But the best part of the whole thing was by far the reception, which lasted well into the morning hours of the following day. It went down in history as the single greatest party Hobbiton had ever seen, and it would remain as such until Bilbo Baggin’s eleventy-first birthday several years later. The fireworks provided by Gandalf were a hit, as they always were, and the dwarf company caused a ruckus or two by singing songs traditional for their own ceremonies and receptions. More than once, various members of the wedding party caught one of the Sackville-Baggins’ attempting to pilfer some of the silver ware, or in one almost comical instance, a gift given to the happy couple by Thorin (a set of solid gold goblets). Needless to say, the King Under the Mountain handled the situation with grace and the Sackville-Baggins politely excused themselves from the rest of the festivities.

 

Overall, it was a joyous experience, but no smiles were as broad as those of the couple themselves, eyes filled with so much love and happiness that several of the party guests composed songs about them on the spot (these songs would later go down in hobbit history as some of the most classic love songs of their people, and young hobbits would often lament that their love could never be as deep as the love spoke of in these songs). Even as they laughed and sang along with their friends, dancing until their feet were numb and feasting until they could eat no more, they had eyes and thoughts for only each other.

 

“Alright, enough with this mooning. We can carry the party on without you two. Go make an honest hobbit out of Mister Baggins.” Fíli clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder as the slightest bit of sunlight began to come over the village.

 

Bilbo blushed at that, but Kíli laughed and pulled his brother into a quick hug before turning to offer his elbow to his partner.

 

“Shall we then? Nothing to worry about, just the rest of your life ahead of you.” Kíli’s eyes sparkled in delight as Bilbo accepted his arm and they began to walk towards Bag End.

 

“Yes…the rest of my life." Bilbo smiled up at him. "I do believe the worst is behind us.”

 

And as history will tell us, Bilbo Baggins was never more correct.

 

For they would live happily ever after, never to be parted again until the end of their days.


End file.
